Gotcha
by NaturallyDark
Summary: Team Ebony is known for two things – their love of treasure and pranking. But one night, Shuppet and Murkrow have a disagreement that's more serious than just deciding which treasure to go after. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon one-shot. Fluff.


**Happy Halloween! To celebrate, have a Pokémon Mystery Dungeon fluff!**

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><p>The sun had long sunk beneath the waves of the sea, and stars began to twinkle in the sky when Duskull decided it was time to close up shop for the night. He sorted the bags of money once again, enjoying the sound of jangling coins as he rearranged. After he was satisfied, he backed out of the Duskull-shaped tent and locked the door.<p>

The sudden sound of beating wings right above him startled him enough to cause him to drop his keyring. A moment later, said keyring had vanished.

"Gah!" He whipped his head around, desperately trying to find the keys. A high-pitched giggling sounded right next to him but when he looked, nobody was there.

"W-who's there?!" he demanded, protectively backing up against the door to the tent. "Show yourselves, you thieves!"

There was more giggling, and it seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once.

"I'm a ghost myself!" he snapped. "If you're t-trying to scare me, it ain't gonna work!" But he was shaking badly and his eye darted back and forth between his eye sockets. The laughing came closer, pressing in on all sides. He covered his head with his hands. He couldn't take it anymore. Duskull darted away as quickly as he could, frantically yelling as he did.

The keyring dropped onto the ground where he had just been and the giggling stopped. A grey Pokémon materialized, her glowing blue eyes staring in the direction Duskull had fled. "We sure got him, didn't we?"

The crow Pokémon who had been perched lightly on the top of the tent flew down to land on the counter, laughing lightly. "That we did, darling," she replied, dusting off her chest with a wing. "That old miser won't be able to rest easy for a while."

"Maybe we went a bit overboard, though, Murkrow..." The ghost Pokémon sighed and began to float away. Murkrow flapped her wings and flew along beside her. "I mean, all he wanted from us was the interest we owed him for keepin' our cash."

"Shuppet, you cannot be serious?" Murkrow glanced at her partner, who looked a bit downcast. "You were enjoying the prank just as much as I a second ago!"

Without responding, Shuppet turned and floated in the direction of the beach. Murkrow followed closely behind, feeling worried. Her partner was practically a floating prank machine. That she be upset by a prank was highly unsettling.

"Darling, are you feeling quite yourself?" Murkrow asked softly as they emerged from the tree-lined path and onto the beach. The sliver of the moon shone brightly and hung high in the sky. Stars reflected in the rippled waves of the sea, making the waves sparkle. Shuppet still hadn't replied, but she faced the sea and stared out at the water. Murkrow landed on the damp sand beside her and folded her wings against her body. It was too chilly an autumn night to be standing around on a beach.

"Is this all we'll ever do?" Shuppet finally murmured. "Pranking, and seeking out treasure? Is that all there is to life?"

"What in Arceus's _name_ are you talking about?"

Shuppet glanced at her. "I want to do more with my life than just what we're doing now. I want to travel, or meet someone that I really like and, well, y'know..."

To that Murkrow could say nothing. Her throat had clenched on Shuppet's last sentence and it was all she could do to keep looking straight ahead and keep her eyes from filling with tears. Shuppet couldn't have meant it, right? Did she not know how Murkrow felt towards her?

Seeming to take Murkrow's silence as an invitation to continue, Shuppet went on, "I mean, it's great being on Team Ebony and everything, but I want to see new things, too. And meet new people. You've been my only friend ever since we were kids, you know?"

Murkrow knew, very well, but she still couldn't speak.

"So what I'm saying is that maybe I need to branch out a little. Make some other friends as well. And I'm almost old enough to take a mate, so I could go out looking for the right guy. That – whoa, are you okay?"

Murkrow hadn't noticed that she'd begun to tremble, or that tears were beginning to escape from her eyes, but she whirled on Shuppet suddenly, her eyes full of hurt and fury.

"Go ahead! See if I give two damns about anything you do!" Shuppet skirted backwards in shock.

"What are you – "

"I don't care! I don't give a single damn! Go and find yourself a stupid mate or whatever! I won't – !"

_– miss you._

Her voice cracked and she turned away, flying off into the forest as quickly as she could. After a minute of flying, she stopped and perched on the branch of a tree, breathing hard. Shuppet didn't appear to have followed her. Murkrow let out a deep sigh and sank into the branch, wanting to disappear like a ghost.

What was she thinking, anyways? Yelling at Shuppet like an idiot for something she didn't do, then flying away? Murkrow wasn't stupid. Each of their many, many fights stuck in her mind like dry, dead leaves. And over their many years of knowing each other, perhaps Murkrow had never really given Shuppet any indication of her feelings for her.

_She should've known!_ she tried to tell herself. _Or, better yet, fallen in love with me, too!_

But neither of those had happened and she knew there had been no reason for either to. And now, because of her stupidity, she might have lost Shuppet, even as a friend. With that thought in her head, she lifted off from the branch and flew back to the beach as quickly as her wings would let her. Shuppet was still there, by the shore, facing the sea. Her body was shaking.

_Oh, no... I made her cry..._

"Oh, Shuppet, darling," Murkrow burst out the moment she landed, "I'm so – I didn't mean – "

Before she could even get her whole sentence out, Shuppet turned around, grinning. She hadn't been crying at all, but laughing.

"Wh-what?" Murkrow took a hop back, her eyes widening. "Shuppet, what...?"

Shuppet floated down to her and rested her head against Murkrow's neck. Awkwardly, Murkrow put her wings around Shuppet in a hug.

"I might have gone a bit overboard, eh?" Shuppet giggled. "You actually thought that I meant it?"

"'Meant it?'" Murkrow echoed, pulling out of the hug. "What are you talking about, darling?"

Shuppet smiled. "You've pranked me enough times. I thought it was about time I got you in return."

"So...that was all just a prank?"

"Yes," she replied, nodding. "There's nothing I'd rather do than prank people all day and search for treasure with you. But maybe I'm getting a bit too good at my job. Sorry, Murky." Before Murkrow could say anything to that, Shuppet leaned in and kissed her lightly on the cheek. Murkrow was suddenly at a loss for words again and a red blush spread across her face. Shuppet giggled, then began to float back towards Treasure Town.

"Come on. That old Duskull will be coming back soon, and I want to get him one more time before the night ends."

Murkrow blinked hard, then put on her devilish grin. "We'll teach him for having a fifty percent interest rate!" she laughed. She lifted into the air and went over to fly side-by-side with Shuppet, feeling lighter than air.


End file.
